<<32>>
* Your story may not have such an happy beginning but that doesn't make you who you are, it's the rest of your story that defines you. *.
****
Aiden sighed at their conversations...
As the days went by he found himself getting understand to, Malisa better
Indeed, she was different from the rest.
She differ a lot from other girl's out there.
She was unique and outstanding.
Not only was she intelligent, she was smart too... He can't help but wonder how lucky he'll be to have such a woman in his life.
But wait... What Is he thinking?
Slowly he left the entrance of the room and went towards the kitchen where he got the stuffs he needed.
****
Saturday night.
Despite that it was already 11pm in the night, Malisa still had difficulties sleeping.
It was almost like sleep had completely disappeared from her eyes...
So she gave on trying to after several minutes.
She got up from her bed and walked towards the wardrobe where she got a robe which she wore on her sleeping gown...
After putting on her slippers, she walked out of the room...
At first she didn't know where to go as she had no place in mind but somehow she found herself in the balcony...
There she was able to view the night sky at a very close range...
As fascinated as she was by this, she moved closer and then rested on the rails as she watched the night sky....
Like this, she drifted off down the memory lane.
< Flashback >
Little Malisa was on her way home from the stream where she went to fetch water...
She had her clay pot of water on her head as she walked home slowly...
As always, she was careful to avoid tripping on the stones by the road sides as she was aware of how angry her mom would be with her if the pot breaks...
Her little world soon got Interrupted by the wails and cries of a girl or young woman as it seemed.
Frightened, Malisa looked back only to view one of the most gruesome sights ever....
Perhaps, it was one of those things that made her decide in her heart that she wasn't going to live that way...
And that she'd rather die than blend in with the insolence!
The young woman was covered in blood...
At first Malisa wondered where the blood came from... But as she watched closely she realized that the blood was coming from in between the woman's legs.
Little Malisa was clueless about female sexuality and all of that then so she didn't understand what was wrong at first... But hearing the conversation around her she did....
Apparently, she wasn't alone anymore... There were other bystanders watching the scene along with her...
The young woman in question was being pulled by the hair by a man who claimed to be her owner... Husband..
It's really funny how women were being treated as slaves and mere properties..
Must I say, women were being treated no less than goats... Here in Malisa's village.
" You stupid woman! How dare you miscarry my child! Who told you to be so careless! " The man screamed as he kept pulling the woman hair with brutality....
The woman wasn't able to form a word, she just kept crying... anyone who saw her would know just how much pain she was in...
But well... No one cared about her pain...
All everyone present cared about was how much of a careless and irresponsible woman she was by losing her husband's child..
Notice the contrast here?
Though she was the one who carried the child... It's believed there, that she's only just a carrier. The child belongs solely to her husband!
There, it's believed that the main life purpose of women is reproduction and nothing else...
They just had to spend their life nurturing their husband's children and getting no credits for it...
Their respect is the one bestowed upon them by their spouse...
The only dignity they have is being a virgin before marriage...
And, the only pride they can have is giving birth to countless children for their husband.
Their body is not considered to be long to them... But their husband's.
Only he has a say on how she should dress or what she should wear...
He only should be the one pleasured during copulation... And that's why all the females are always circumcised before marriage...
Contrary to how people who had humanity in them would have reacted, the women around little Malisa reacted differently...
Instead, of fighting for their fellow woman... They went against her calling her names and cursing her...
They encouraged the man to discipline her more... As she deserved it for being so irresponsible....
The man got motivated by this and began throwing heavy punches at the woman... He practically turned her into a punching bag...
The woman fell... And as if the woman saw something strange... She screamed...
And that was the last thing...
As the woman became silent forever...
Baffled, the man went on his knees and checked her...
Then he realized that she had already given up the ghost...
Showing no guilt... He stood up and then called upon the body guards behind him...
He instructed them on what to do... How they were to dispose the woman's body...
According to their tradition... The woman is a curse...
She was tagged curse, for losing her husband's baby...
Despite it not being her fault...
She was forced to do tasking house hold chores and fetch pots of water from the stream despite being in her first trimester... Which is said to be the most fragile stage for a growing fetus.
As later heard by little Malisa, the woman's lifeless body was thrown into the forbidden forest for wild animals to feed on....
That night, Malisa cried herself to sleep... Then she decided that she was not going to blend in with the circumstance she was in.
She was going to fight for her rights as a human! And as a female child!
And that's where her fuel came from...
She wasn't a natural fighter... But situations made her one....
And, she broke the rules... And broke free from the shackles that bounded her in her village and country.
< Flash back ends. >
.....
A/N : Geez, guys! That was the most emotional chapter ever!
What do you think?
Take care... Love you all...